UT tidbits: Norton out for year, Kindle defends hit

AUSTIN — Jared Norton, a senior linebacker who entered the season as one of Texas’ most established defensive playmakers, is scheduled for shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the season, Longhorns coach Mack Brown said today.

Norton was injured in UT’s season opener, a victory against Louisiana-Monroe. Because he only appeared in one game, the Longhorns expect the NCAA to grant their request for a medical redshirt. That would allow Norton, who has played in 38 career games and made eight starts, to return for a fifth season in 2010.

In Norton’s absence, the Longhorns have been playing both Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson, and the sophomores have performed well.

In other news Monday:

Redshirt freshman Tre’ Newton, who rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries against Texas Tech, is now the clear starter at tailback. Newton was listed alone as a first-teamer on UT’s newest depth chart, with Vondrell McGee second, Cody Johnson third and Fozzy Whittaker fourth.

Nolan Brewster is listed as a co-starter with Blake Gideon at one of the safety positions. Brown said Gideon “tweaked his shoulder” against Tech but should be able to play against UTEP this week.

Colt McCoy, meanwhile, said he’s recovered from a flu bug that plagued him last week. He missed part of last Tuesday’s practice and was quarantined from the rest of the team at one point leading up to the Tech game, but he said he did not suffer from the flu symptoms during the game. He did, however, feel the need to scarf down several peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches at halftime for energy.

“I just felt weak,” McCoy said. “I wasn’t myself.”

Also, in regards to the blog discussion about Sergio Kindle’s big hit on Taylor Potts, Kindle said he had no idea there was a question about the legality of the play until his relatives told him people were talking about it. Kindle said he didn’t think there was anything dirty about the play.